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Undo, Undo!
Torqulon Spaceport Not very busy, this simple spaceport sees the occasional ship coming and going at irregular intervals. As there is no need for anything more complex, it consists of just a dark control tower constructed of native stone, a single but adequately-serviced launchpad, a private terminal for charter ships, and a rarely-used public terminal. Oddly enough, the security subsystems are state-of-the-art, and seem to be designed to keep people in, rather than out... Contents: Sandstorm Rodimus Prime Chopshop Redshift Obvious exits: Launch leads to Deep Space - Galactic Plane. South leads to Barren Plains. Galvatron has arrived. Rodimus Prime frowns as he steps off the shuttle, a Wrecker (and possibly a nameless technician) in tow. To them he explains, "Nightbeat says they've asked for our help on their new security system, 'in the spirit of friendship,' and damn me," Rodimus sighs, "I'm taking it up on it. Right now, a lot of the galaxy isn't exactly thrilled with us, and if we can do something to look better - and maybe gain some new allies - we'd best take the chance. On the other hand... these or the Torquolons, so be ready for treachery," he says, making sure to get that out before they're actually met by any welcoming party. Chopshop has been in the Torqulon Spaceport for a while taking his pick of the duty free items that are just walking around openly in pockets and containers, but too be honest it was starting to bore him nothing really challenging to someone with his skills. Then all of a sudden there it was an expensive and important looking red case shackled to someone, important enough to have a couple of bodyguards in tow to make sure things run smoothly. Keeping to the shadows as much as possible Chopshop moves in a circular path and will eventually lead him to the prize. Sandstorm just chuckles a bit as he steps off after Rodimus, and winks at the Prime as he pats him on the shoulder. "That's half the reason they sent me with you, y'know." Well more like Sandstorm's got a sharp eye and isn't -quite- as likely to resort of asking questions with his guns as some other Wreckers, so he certainly can't make the situation any -worse-. Hopefully. Though it's probably gonna be pretty boring. But you can't expect every mission to be a glamerous one. There is not much of a welcoming committee for the Autobots, just a scruffy looking Torqulonese in spacey blue overalls, carrying a sign with 'Autobots' written on it in a lazy scrawl. He looks rather bored and disgruntled, like he'd rather not be here. He frowns when the Autobots arrive and waves, trying to flag them down. A bit peculiar, none of the people that Chop Shop pilfers from ever seem to notice or get upset that their items are gone. Perhaps Chop Shop is just that good. Perhaps. "Oh, I know, Sandstorm," Rodimus replies, a faint smile ghosting across his lips. "I /did/ approve the mission roster, after all." When he sees their 'welcoming committee', he hesitates and glances back at Sandstorm, expression saying, 'And the weirdness starts.' Then he approaches the scruffy old Torqulonese. "Hello. I'm Rodimus Prime, of the Autobots, and these are Sandstorm and Hexnut," with the last, he gestures to the gumby. "We're here by request. Something about a security system?" Far above, in the shadow of one of Torqulon's sattelites, a Decepticon spacecraft lies in wait. Something is definatly going on down below on the planet's surface, but Redshift isn't going to risk his neck by landing on Torqulon for nothing... Decepticons are hardly welcomed openly on this particular planet. Sandstorm just raises a hand in a brief wave when he's pointed out in the introductions. Let the Prime handle the talking, that's what he's good at. The Wrecker is already paying more attention to the environment around them ... hardly looks like the sort of place that would -need- advanced security, other than being a spaceport in the first place. Hmmm... Galvatron is naturally sitting in the command chair of that Decepticon spaceship. Thus far, he is merely tapping something into a datapad, apparently writing something. Chopshop is just being a little lazy he only really takes things that pique his interest though the itch to take something really big has been growing steadily. A few of the larger packages that he has taken have been reported as missing but that could just be down to poor shipping, everyone knows how bad the commercial spacelines are, security however are starting to keep a closer eye out for suspicious types lingering around. Chopshop finally reaches his latest mark, his right hand clenching reflexively as he prepares to go to work, suddenly stepping out from the shadows he barges straight into the trio. Knocking back one guard he jabs swiftly with his disruptor spear, disabling and shattering the shackle on the case. Whilst barging into the one carrying it he grabs and wrenches the case from his grasp before hurrying swiftly away from the group. "Hey i'm in a rush here!" He shouts back at them angrily, a diversion as he tries to disappear before the inevitable cry of "THIEF!" rings out, he doesn't get far. Combat: Chopshop appears from the shadows... Most of the obvious security systems really seem to be designed to keep people in, rather than out. But then, the whole planet is an asylum. The scruffy-looking Torqulonese folds the sign a few times and jams it into his pocket. He holds out a hand - there's grease under his chipped nails - to shake and greets, even sounding bored, "I'm Torkevin. Rodimus Prime, huh? Can't say we were expecting you. No time to, feh, get the place fixed up." Does he sound a bit bitter? "But here it is. Check it out." He spreads his arms and gestures, apparently at... the whole spaceport around them. Around Chop Shop, the air flickers. One of the guards calmly gets back up after being knocked over, not even a scratch on him from the spear, and he moves to check on the assaulted traveler with the briefcase - and the shackle and briefcase are back. The briefcase that Chop Shop has just seems to melt away. That's more than a bit strange. Rodimus Prime chuckles. "I wouldn't worry about it. I'm not really one to stand on ceremony, anyway." He shakes the Torkevin's hand, not bothered in the least by the grease, but at the last statement, his optics flicker a bit brighter in confusion. "What do you mean, 'here it is'? I don't see any-" and then he's interrupted by a cry of 'Thief'. He straightens and looks around, not yet spying the Insecticon in the crowd. "Looks like you're going to have a live test of your new system sooner than expected." Grease under the nails. Either he's been working hard, or just didn't care enough to get cleaned up. Considering his somewhat sour disposition, the later almost seems more likely to Sandstorm, who has a knack for noticing small details like that. He's about to say something but his attention snaps up at the shouts of thievery. ".. Sounds like the place is gonna get a test wether we're here or not. You better stay here." Which he seems to be saying more to Hexnut than anyone else. Edging around Rodimus and their welcome party the Wrecker moves in the direction of the commotion.. if only so he can see things in action for himself. Or so that's the thought at the moment. "So, um... The plan was to drop Chopshop off on that dirtbag planet and leave him there, right?" Redshift inquires, as he idly polishes his armor. He's not a fan of the 'waiting game', and his constant fidgiting with his armor shows it. Chopshop ducks around a corner or two before starting to mingle back in with the background players, finally satisfied that he's got away scot free yet again he looks down at the case he acquired. ooO(Serves them right for thinking a couple of guards and a simple secure.. what the???)Ooo Chopshop just stares at his empty hand, his optics giving away his surprise. ooO(I didn't fail, i had it i was home free, something isn't right here...)Ooo Swiching to a Decepticon channel he risks a short databurst to those waiting above, <> "We were hoping for a live test," Torkevin drones, his voice really rather soft and monotonous. It toes a thin line between soothing and annoying. "That is why we invited you. It is a proven fact that wherever the Autobots are invited, the Decepticons will inevitably appear, no matter how carefully the invite is guarded and kept secret." That's not biased and offensive at all! Torkevin looks grudgingly satisfied with the progress he's seeing. "But please. Pursue the Decepticon, if you wish. We would love to observe your... techniques." "We were hoping for a live test," Torkevin drones, his voice really rather soft and monotonous. It toes a thin line between soothing and annoying. "That is why we invited you. It is a proven fact that wherever the Autobots are invited, the Decepticons will inevitably appear, no matter how carefully the invite is guarded and kept secret." That's not biased and offensive at all! Torkevin looks grudgingly satisfied with the progress he's seeing. "But please. Pursue the Decepticon, if you wish. We would love to observe your... techniques." Galvatron lowers his datapad. "No, Redshift. Chopshop is looking for something for me. Hopefully he won't waste too much of my time stealing random garbage to get it--" His optics narrow as he receives Chopshop's message, and he replies, <> He begins to stomp towards the airlock. "Bah, it appears we may have to intervene." Rodimus Prime turns to /glare/ down at Torkevin. He opens his mouth to protest, but then shuts it quickly. Really, he can't deny it. Then he shakes his head faintly and says towards Sandstorm, pointing, "It came from that direction. Loop around the other way - maybe we can fence whoever it is in." He starts then starts to spring in the direction where the commotion came from, but then starts to slow down and moves more guardedly as he realizes that nobody seemed to be commoting anymore. Combat: Rodimus Prime sets his defense level to Guarded. Sandstorm pauses, peering down the corridor after he's gotten a ways along... shouldn't there be more panicing or something? Guards running around, so on and so on? Not much for advanced security... Wait a minute. <> he shortwaves to Rodimus, <> In a flash he has his blaster out before edging around the corner then presses up against the wall again, going into 'serious business' mode. Because something suddenly didn't feel all that right about this. "Alright punk, whoever or whatever you are," though the seem to already know, but he's going to just let them think they didn't notice that little potential flub, "just come out with yer hands up, and I won't have to wreck ya so hard." Combat: Sandstorm sets his defense level to Guarded. Chopshop scowls at his hand as if it had somehow betrayed him, but he knows he had it he felt the tug as the pulled it away from the previous owner and it wasn't restolen by someone better than him as if such a person exists it had definately melted. Transforming to his much less conspicuous insect mode Chopshop circles back to check on the ones that he had stolen from. <> Chopshop transforms, shrinking down and down into his tiny stag beetle mode. <> answers Rodimus. He gives a faint sigh. <> It is a predictable enough pattern, but it doesn't exactly make Rodimus happy. The large robot searches the area, but it's a busy spaceport and Chopshop is a bitty bug. He grumbles to himself, and adds over the radio, <> Sandstorm grunts a bit, and starts to move closer. Even his optics aren't sharp enough to pick up teeny little bugbot from this distance. <> He squints a bit as he moves farther down the corridor and then pauses to check his bearings again. Still no sign of this supposed security system they're suppose to be checking, either... Redshift grumbles as Galvagron heads to the airlock. "Humph. We're going to save his thieving keister?" He asks, as he exits the ship. Oh well, at least there'll be Autobots to shoot at when he gets there! The spacer transforms, and rockets towards the planet's surface, following the transponder beacon for the spaceport. Hopefully a spaceship going to a /spaceport/ won't attract too much suspicion, but he does have some Decepticon emblems. Oops. Redshift transforms into his sleek spacecraft mode and takes to the air. Torkevin follows the Autobots, though he lags. It just seems like he wants to observe them without hindering them. Almost everyone seems really, really calm and laid back, despite it being a spaceport. There /could/ be something in the water, given the purpose of this planet. Or it could be something else entirely. The traffic control tower radio operators are polite to the Decepticon vessel when it tries to land, directing it to an unoccupied pad without any trouble. Galvatron exits the ship and begins his descent towards the planet. "Yes, but not necessarily for HIS sake, Redshift. And besides, I don't *like* the Torqulons' meager attempts at defiance. He radios back towards Chopshop, <> It's a lot easier for Chopshop to spot the Autobots who seem to be happy waving their blasters about itching for the chance to ventilate his chassis for him. He isn't going to give them that chance, the number of hiding spaces now multiplied a thousand fold thanks to his reduced size he sneaks back around towads the lost prize. <> Combat: Tiny Stag Beetle slips into the shadows and out of sight... Rodimus Prime isn't waving his blaster about, but he still tends to stand out like a sore thumb. Probably his height and the colorful paint job. Meanwhile, he can't actually find the sneaky little beetle. He can, however, spot the people around here, and they are... almost supernaturally calm. Rodimus frowns, then turns towards his Torqulon guide. "Just what /is/ going on here, anyway?" Sandstorm goes to lightly poke one of the passing patrons in the shoulder lightly with a finger. "Excuse me, but did you happen to see any other large robotic beings in the vicinity?" Something about this whole ordeal suddenly doesn't sit very right with him, but there's the matter of actually finding a culprit if there even -is- one before anything else. One of the patrons gives a blank look at Sandstorm, but he eventually answers, "Oh, probably. Haven't really been paying attention. Visiting my sick uncle here, you see." Torkevin explains, "We've implemented an undo button. Whenever anything goes wrong, we just undo it. The latest in reactive technology." The spaceport staff are all very polite and laid back as the Decepticons land. Someone even stands outside on the tarmac, trying to offer peanuts. Red Spaceship is escorted into the spaceport easily enough, and ferried into an empty landing bay. <> Redshift exclaims. His altmode doesn't often function as much of a disguise, afterall. > Rodimus Prime's optics flicker in surprise as Torkevin talks about an 'undo' button. "What? Wait! But how would that work!" He looks around at the strangely passive people and narrows his optics, perhaps overhearing what the person being poked says to Sandstorm. "Are these people... are these people all inmates?" he asks. To be honest, that these people are -not- reacting much is proving to be more of a weird out than anything else. How can -no one- care? Considering these people haven't been all that happy towards Transformers in general in the past... Almost starting to wonder if there is something in the water. Good thing they don't drink H2O! But being spread out is getting them nowhere, so he starts back towards Rodimus' position. "Yo, Prime. Ain't seen nuttin' yet." .. Though that Sandstorm is calling him Prime instead of Rod, Roddy or a half dozen other possible buddy-buddy names is probably a good hunt that he's not as all laid back as his demeanor acts. "Still can't believe these people are all so calm," he muses aloud, almost casually. Though keeping an acute eye on their 'guide' for his reaction... Galvatron lands on the tarmac, looks the vendor over, then smacks the peanuts out of his hand. "Get away from me, you wretch!" he barks, then begins scanning the crowd for Insecticons. Tiny Stag Beetle over hears something about undoing, <> Chopshop makes his way over to the other Decepticons. Torkevin looks amused and, he replies, almost droll, "No, of course they're not all inmates. Some of them have to pay the bills. People just calm down when they realize that nothing here can hurt them. Not permanently. As for the exact nature of the undo technology - what is to say you would not simply undo it all? You are a warlike people. I wanted you to test it, not explain it to you." In a flash, the peanuts are back in the peanut-man's hand, and he's wandering off to offer peanuts to another arriving spaceship. Galvatron's jaw drops open a bit as the peanuts rematerialize in the vendor's hand. "What... what treachery is this!? Is this a simulation? Redshift, perform an incendiary bombardment of the area! I want to see what happens!" <> Sandstorm grumbles over the radio, <> Grunting a bit, Sandstorm takes another look around. Hmmm. "Well, there you go then. Your thief is gone, your 'button' put whatever he stole back, and we didn't have to shoot anyone." He tries to sound more disappointed at the last part, if only to keep the sarcasm in general in his voice toned down. "Test over, we go home now? Or we could test this farther..." He makes it very clear he still has his blaster in one hand as he taps the fingers of the other along the top of it. "Or maybe I should try shooting something, see if it can undo -that-." Flashes Torkevin a way too cheesy smirk. "Hypothetically, of course..." "'Incendiary bombardment' is music to my ears!" Redshift replies, sounding interested in this whole affair for the first time since he arrived in orbit around Torqulon. His engines had just begun to cool down, but he fires them up again, and the little red ship with the volatile payload takes off, veering around the air-traffic control tower, before unleashing a payload of highly explosive and extremely bright white-phosphorous firebombs! Combat: Red Spaceship misses Rodimus Prime with his Phosphorous Bombs Area attack! -5 Combat: Red Spaceship misses Sandstorm with his Phosphorous Bombs Area attack! -5 Combat: Red Spaceship misses Galvatron with his Phosphorous Bombs Area attack! -5 "No, people don't work that way," Rodimus answers. "We trick ourselves, we trick ourselves all the time into reacting to things that aren't real like they're real. It's... it's something people do. It's why movies can make money and books can move their readers, because we trick ourselves into falling for fake things all the time, so this," he gestures to the others, "calming down when they realize nothing can hurt them permanently? That's not normal! How does this 'undo' thing work?" He looks towards Sandstorm. <> and then Redshift's phosporous bomb hits, blowing him off his feet, scorching the outter layer of his paint. "Deceptico-" he starts to shout, but he stops when the damage vanishes suddenly. "How...?" Tiny Stag Beetle finally zips over to stand a small distance from Galvatron keeping out of the tyrant's way as much in respect as in the fact that he might just step on him because he feels like it. Something which saves him from sure destruction as Redshift blasts the spaceport and Galvatron disappears momentarily only to reappear fromm the destruction as unharmed as everything else. ooO(I have got to get my hands on whatever is doing this.)Ooo Sandstorm starts to ask if he can 'test' the undo by shooting their increasingly annoying guide, but he's cut off by the sound of bombs going off. On sheer reflex and instinct he dives and rolls to the side, avoiding a few stray bursts of explosive fire. But Rodimus isn't so lucky. "Oh, now this just got interest.... ing?" He notices Rodimus' damage just disappearing. "Okay, weird be damned, that IS kind of cool..." Galvatron stares as the bombs land... and do nothing! He says, "What madness is this?" Experimentally, he puts a hand in front of his cannon... and fires! Grimlock has arrived. Torkevin seems unperturbed by the bombs going off. The explosions, while brief, are enough to send some placid security guards ambling in the general direction of Redshift. Perhaps they will hit him with Soft Pillows and send him for a lie down on the Comfortable Couch. Torkevin explains, "It isn't madness at all. It's what everyone wants. An infinite supply of second chances. Even if some of us don't deserve them." He doesn't seem too eager to explain HOW it works, however. Galvatron emits a hiss of pain as his hand is obliterated... then somehow reappears on his wrist, no worse for wear! "By the pit! This is insane! Or..." He takes on a look of horror. "...no. Am *I* just a simulation? Do I merely believe that I am who I am? No, that's ridiculous! There must be another explanation..." Grimlock arrives! 'Stay in the ship.' Rodimus told him. 'It's a diplomatic mission' Rodimus told him. Bah! There are Decepticons here, and Grimlock's going to save the day! And so, with a telltale "RARGH!" Grimlock bursts through a wall, ready to start bashing in heads! And, moments later, the wall seals behind him. Grimlock pauses, then glances over his shoulder. Tiny Stag Beetle watches as Galvatron attempts to maim himself but remains hiding from the madness of the reset, <> "How is that healing people?" Rodimus demands of the Torqulon. "In /life/ there is no 'infinite supply of second chances.' Aren't hospitals supposed to prepare people for life?" The Prime is gasping at straws here, as the Torqulons have never seemed much interested in releasing their inmates, but it's a point that's always bothered him. "And it is /not/ cool," he snaps at Sandstorm. And then he overhears the unmistakable sound of Galvatron's fusion cannon. "Oh, no..." he groans. And then he hears Grimlock's 'RARGH!' and he groans again, covering his face with his hand. "Oh, no..." he groans again. Sandstorm frowns as he hears the all too familiar sound of a certain cannon going off out on the tarmack. "Oh, great, -he's- here." At the sound of crashing walls he spins around with his gun drawn. But stops when he sees it's just Grimlock, lowering the blaster again. And staring as the wall appears like nothing had ever happened to it. "I was wondering how long it would be til you got bored, Grim," he comments, somewhat offhandedly. Torkevin points out, "This better than life. Why would anyone ever want to leave?" Then the monkey-shrinks can just keep taking their money, and everyone is happy! Happy but not well, perhaps. "The trick is, perhaps, in the mind's eye. You have to ask yourself, are any of us ever really wounded, or do we just feel pain because we think we do?" He tilts his head to one side thoughtfully. "I like to imagine that, deep down, we're all happy and whole inside. It's nice to have that on the outside, too." What, robot dinosaur? More testing! "Me Grimlock no BORED. Me HELPING! 'cuz me see Septi-cons on scanners n' stuff!" It's a good excuse. "But, uh. Me Grimlock think wall am broken. 'cuz it's fixed. When me Grimlock smash stuff, it s'posed to stay broke." he hmms, and pokes curiously at the wall he just smashed up. "Am us in training room thingie? Holly-grams?" Galvatron radios back, <> Then, Galvatron barges through the crowd towards Rodimus Prime--or rather, at Torkevin. "YOU! How did you do this!? Explain yourself!" he roars, attempting to seize the Torqulon by his overalls. "HOW DID YOU DO THIS? Tell me, or you will WISH I could kill you!" Tiny Stag Beetle isn't going to argue the point, he's cased the spaceport pretty well but then there has to be something making everything reset something off somehow, something not quite right for the place, <> Taking flight Chopshop goes a searching, with luck his skils in spotting security devices will translate into discovering the source of this odd power. "Stay away from him, Galvatron!" Rodimus exclaims, attempting to insert himself between the Torqulon and Galvatron, and looks to be trying to protect the strange little monkey man. It seems he doesn't trust this 'undo button.' "Man, this is just.. too weird to be right. Nothing that's done lasts. Changes. That defeats the whole point of living in the first place! You people are nuts!" And then Galvatron barges in. Sandstorm takes a few hop-steps back, mostly to keep from getting trampled by the charging tyrant. Even if it is irrelivant in this place. That nothing -lasts- is bugging him more than the Decepticons, really. But when Galvatron barges in he's still at the ready, leveling his sandblaster at the tyrant. "Leave the monkey-butt alone, castlehead. Just because this ain't gonna last don't mean I won't shoot your face off anyways." Torkevin is grabbed by the overalls, limp like a rag doll, and he suggests, "You could kill me. That would be very interesting, I am sure. I've never died before. I /wish/ I could say that I'm doing this, but I frankly don't have the imagination. The vision. I don't dream big enough. I'm just a grease monkey." Redshift has disconnected. Rodimus Prime makes a grab towards Galvatron's arm. "Let him /go/, Galvatron," he growls. "/He/ may not care if you toss him around, but /I/ don't trust this 'undo button'. Grimlock grunts a bit, and scratches his helmet. "Hmm. Wait." he tromps over- for once, not quite rushing to murderize Galvatron just yet. "So...stuff that happen...just...not happen?" he hmms, and grunts. "How far back it s'posed to go?" Galvatron seizes Torkevin, but Rodimus manages to wedge himself between the Torqulon and Galvatron, and the latter is forced to hang on by an arm. "Let him go? Leave him alone? Or what? You'll KILL me? Don't make me laugh. As for you, you miserable lump..." He glares at Torkevin. "I didn't say anything about KILLING you. What you Torqulons failed to realize is that you've set yourself up for an ETERNITY of torment! I could kill you MILLIONS of times over here! Don't you see?" He grins wickedly. "It'll be like living in HELL!" As Galvatron goes for the subtle yet direct approach of investigation Chopshop takes another look around this time taking time to pay close attention to everything not just the security stuff like he normally would. Then he notices it something small almost imperceptible, the eddies of air that flow through the spaceport they don't seem to ruffle a thing, then another a creature playing with a ball that doesn't roll it just sort of slides slightly, not something you'd notice unless you were really paying attention. ooO(Perhaps if i follow these i will find a large error, maybe even the source itself)Ooo "So far, just instanteously," Sandstorm comments over his shoulder to Grimlock, he's keeping his optics and his gun trained on Galvatron, though. As pointless as shooting anyone would be right now. "... You know, I hate to admit it, but Galvatron has a point. You -have- set yourselves up for a 'worse things than dying' scenereo here." Rodimus Prime is wedged between Galvatron and the guy that Galvatron is holding, and Galvatron is threatening eternal torment. Lovely. His optics widen as something occurs to him, and suddenly his expression hardens. He lifts his right arm, fist pointed towards Galvatron, pipes directed pointedly towards the Decepticon Leader's face. Very softly, voice dangerous, he says, "You realize that works both ways, don't you, Galvatron?" He takes a deep breath. "Put him down." Rodimus manages to keep his expression set, grim but determined, even as the images of his idea of Hell play on the inside of his mind. Torkevin should be scared out of his little monkey mind. He instead observes, "Hmm. Living in hell. That would make of a fascinating study of post traumatic stress disorder. However, you are aware that you can be undone, aren't you? Not by me. I haven't the willpower for it. But perhaps those specimens with the red badges might be able to manage it, if they really wanted. What I am saying is - reality here is defined by common consensus. A multi-user shared hallucination, if you will. If those Autobots will you out of existence... bye bye. They would, however, have to acquire a majority share in reality. We maintain a bank of specimens devoted solely to dreaming out reality as it should be, rather than as it is. The force of their image of reality would be difficult to overcome." Galvatron smirks. "So even the Autobots see what a mistake this place is! Oh, and Rodimus, go right on ahead and fire. I've been tortured by a GOD. What makes you think you can do better, hm?" His gaze turns back to the Torqulon. "What are you saying? Reality is defined by common consensus? And you could will me out of existence if you so desired? Really? Fool, I think perhaps you've underestimated MY will!" He glances off at a stone wall, and concentrates REALLY hard, trying to wish it out of existence somehow. This could either work or he'll just look constipated. Tiny Stag Beetle continues to follow his tiny trail of breadcrumbs, which gradually becomes very large crumbs indeed, though it's all really just a matter of perspective as he carries on his way leaving the throngs of the disturbingly mellow crowds and raging cybertronians. Chopshop soon finds himself alone but continues searching he knows he's close he can almost taste it just like when he's right on top of that prized item that he can't keep his hands off of. Grimlock looks down at Sandstorm. "But...whut if somebodyy smash 'undo' button? What happen THEN?" Grimlock hms- and then he looks over at where Galvatron and Rodimus and the monkey-guy discuss philosophy. "Wait. Wait." he scratches at his head. "Me Grimlock think me know how this goes..." and with that, Grimlock glances around. "CLAP YOU HANDS IF YOU NO BELIEVE IN SEPTI-CONS!" he yells at nobody in particular- and then pauses. "Wait. No. It...OPPOSITE. So NO clap you hands since you NO believe in septi-cons! Them jerks." "Maybe you're right, Galvatron," Rodimus replies, voice and hand still steady. "And, well... I've always been better at the direct approach, anyway." Suddenly, his hand 'shunks' into his forearm and is replaced by a thin, rotating blade, his buzzsaw, which he brings down towards the arm Galvatron uses to hold the Torqulon. As he does this, he says to Grimlock, "All right, 'Tinkerbell,' you and Sandstorm get searching for those 'dreamers' and set them free. Sandstorm frowns farther, though he does lower his weapon finally. And resists the urge to just facepalm at Grimlock and ruin an otherwise serious and dramatic moment. Instead he cocks his arm to rest the sandblaster against his shoulder. "Y'know, as much as I want big psycho here gone.. just wishing him out of exsistance would be too easy. No satisfaction in that. Besides." He shifts a bit to turn his scowl towards Torkevin. "Don't you people realize this don't make you any better than them? You may think you're making everyone all happy and such, but really. It's almost slavery in its own right. Yer forcin' a bunch of people to live in a world on the design on just the few of whatever brainbank or such you use to power this weirdass 'undo button' of yers." And then Rodimus decides for enough talking and getting to action instead. "Now that's more like it." He starts off in the other direction, but then pauses. "Hmm. If its not permanent, I wonder if Grimlock could just smash through every wall until we find a hidden room..." Galvatron stares at the wall... and allows himself a slight gasp as it vanishes! Then... he grins oh so evilly. "Heh. Heheh. HAHAHAHAA! FOOLS! YOU HAVE MADE ME A GOD!" He howls with maniacal laughter... until Rodimus cuts off his hand, forcing him to let go of the Torqulon. Galvatron pauses, smirks, then... grows a huge clawed hand in its place! "Oh, Rodimus. You know, I think you lack the proper imagination for a place like this! Here, let me show you the stuff NIGHTMARES are made of!" And he lashes out with his claws--which are razor sharp and *burn* if they strike you--at Sandstorm and Rodimus Prime! Torkevin falls to the floor, which rises up into the form of a chaise lounge to meet him. He pulls out a pad of paper and starts scribbling down notes. "Galvatron considers claws the stuff of nightmare. Hmm. Perhaps Scorponok makes Galvatron feel inadequate about his hands. Fascinating." Tiny Stag Beetle carries on his search, finally he comes to a dead end, well a dead end for most, but a locked door isn't going to stop Chopshop transforming he easily deals with the lock. Travelling on further there are more doors barring the way for amateurs perhaps but not someone as skilled and practiced as he is the corridor seems to distort sickeningly from time to time. Finally a door opens onto a large white room or at least it partially is, it flickers and changes, visually distorting with each vertigo inducing flicker. There in the center is a shiny prize, a large crystalline structure machinery perhaps, if he could he would drool. He barely even notices the aliens apparently trapped in fluidic tubes it's not as if they are worth anything. Stag beetle rises up expanding and unfolding till the sneak thief Chopshop stands before you. Chopshop says, "I believe i have found something, perhaps the controls or the generator, i will need a little time to study it." "Yay, Smashing! Me Grimlock- HEY!" For it seems Galvatron has made a grave error- lashing out at Sandstorm and Rodimus- but not the dinobot! "Grrh! Me Grimlock no scared of you!" he snarls- and transforms to his dinosaur mode, thundering forward! "Me Grimlock no scared of ANYTHINGS!" And Grimlock attempts to bite down on the Decepticon commander, teeth glinting savagely! It almost seems like Grimlock's...bigger than usual- but that might just be a trick of the light! With a grunt and a growl, Grimlock changes into a robot T-rex! Watch out. Galvatron says, "Very good." Galvatron says, "Also, apparently, here reality can be altered by one's imagination. Heheh, the possibilities are endless! Nevertheless, this is a construct of the Torqulons. I don't trust it." Chopshop says, "The area here is even more unsettling." Rodimus Prime is struck with the burning claws, partially because he seems to be trying to insert himself between Galvatron and Sandstorm. "NNggGH!" he grunts in pain as he is rent open... and then the holes heal. Then he straightens, and steps forward, his optics narrowing and his fists clenching. "You're forgetting something, Galvatron," he growls out as both hands dart towards the Decepticon leader, transforming into mechanical tentacles as they shoot towards him. "That god that tortured you, Galvatron? I held him INSIDE MY SOUL for years!" Sandstorm, who's kept his optics on Galvatron the entire time, is unsurprised by the sudden big evil claws of doom, swiftly jerking out of the way as Rodimus steps in to intercept and give him a chance to back off. And then Grimlock charges in, giving him a bit of a distraction to dart behind the Dinobot stealing all the attention and make a dash into the corridor. Once away from the brewing fracas he slows down, going to more cautious as he starts paying much more attention to what's around him with narrowed optics. No simulation is perfect, and its those little details, those little flickers that only seem out of place if you pay attention to notice them, that he starts looking for. Everything goes back to normal, right? So theoreticly, the closer you get, the faster they're going to 'fix' what they're closer to and more familiar with. He's counting on that, and that the brainbank is so occupied with keeping the whole picture intact, they're going to misplace some of the exact details... Galvatron glares over at the Torqulon, who appears to be mocking him. So, he does what any devil would probably do in this situation, and imagines Torkevin's chaise turning into molten metal. He imagines that so hard. Of course, his daydreaming leaves him open to attack, and Grimlock's jaws seize his shoulder, biting more deeply than they really ought to! "Gah! Get off of me, you lumbering brute!" He imagines spikes growing out his armor as a deterrent to more chomping. Galvatron finds himself a bit more perturbed as Rodimus makes that unpleasant announcement. "You... you're bluffing! You couldn't contain something so evil! You're just a boy!" Nevertheless, he tries to back away from the encroaching tentacles. Galvatron says, "Really? What do you see?" Robot T-Rex! , for all his heroism...gets a mouthful of spikes! "Ow!" And the dinobot staggers back, plowing through a wall (well, a couple of walls) to the point he plops down on his tail not too far from Sandstorm! "Hngh." Grimlock says, rubbing at his mouth- only to glance back to where Galvatron and Rodimus tangle like a pair of muderous cephelopods. "...Uuh. Him Roddy-mus not s'posed to do that, right?" he asks. Torkevin quickly abandons his chaise lounge as it turns into molten steel. He wasn't lying about his imagination being weaker than most! He continues to jot down notes. "The Prime has delusions of containing a god inside him. Then again, perhaps the tentacles are meant to invoke the Quintessons, who could be seen as god-figures to their creations, albeit malevolent ones." There have been enough Quintesson schemes by now that those in the know have heard! But the bit about Unicron being jammed inside Rodimus is not something even someone well-informed would know. Chopshop makes his way unsteadily across the room to the crystal machine and studies it, his optics sparkle almost as much as the pure clear shards whilst the onyx shards mirror the dark urge within him to make everything he desires his. Chopshop concentrates on the device ignoring the flickering of reality around him, unable to truely fathom how to operate the device he instead starts to pry out a clear shard, it takes a while of delicate work but finally a shard comes free. Studying it it looks slightly curved like it is perhaps broken from something larger, enough could perhaps be pieced together and used to focus light or power somehow, shrugging he pockets the single piece and starts to work on removing more. A black crystal this time, the shape is different perhaps denoting a different source that they were crafted from. Chopshop says, "Galvatron, i am attempting to disable the device." Galvatron says, "Excellent!" The tentacles withdraw, and Rodimus's hands return to normal, but his optics glow with a light that borders on green rather than their normal blue. The effect is rather eerie. Not many Transformers have green optics. But one of the two giant heads that circles Cybertron once did. "Bluffing?" he asks, voice hollow, faintly haunted. "Oh, I wish. By Primus, I wish, but /I'm/ not that lucky." There's a moment as he glances back towards the progress that Grimlock and Sandstorm make, then turns back towards Galvatron. If only he can keep the Decepticon leader's attention. "He was there, and deep down, Galvatron, you know it, too." And if Galvatron knows it, it has more force, doesn't it? The greater the belief, the greater the power. Rodimus smiles and reaches towards Galvatron. "Maybe I can cause you pain just by thinking, the way he used to. Care to test that, Galvatron?" Galvatron says, "Eh... ah... Chopshop! Hurry up! Quickly!" Rodimus Prime says, "Grimlock, Sandstorm, find those dreamers, free them, and destroy whatever device they've got running this. And /hurry/! I'm... not enjoying the memories I'm having to tap here." Sandstorm isn't as good at picking locked doors as the Insecticon that's already been down this way, and has to resort to more forward methods. Most of which involve blowing the door up and lunging before it can replace itself. But from almost vertigo inducing winding corridors and breaking down locked doors, the Wrecker finally finds his way to where he's looking for. It could very well just be how BADLY he wants to find it that's helping, if the weird way this planet is working. Or that some little bit of reality 'breaks' when Chopshop takes a sharp, as he's suddenly right there in front of the door. ".. I'm just not going to question." He shakes his head, and barges through like he has every other door on the way there. And there's already an Insecticon here!... Though its crystal-like object Sandstorm's gaze focuses on. He's -seen- some of that crystal before. And that he reconizes it doesn't make him any happier on the matter as things start to make more sense. In a way "Oh slaggin' hell." Trying to zone out the vertigo effect of the room, the Wrecker advances towards Chopshop. "I wouldn't touch that if I was you." Sandstorm says, "Believe it or not, I just did... and ya ain't gonna like it." Sandstorm says, "Believe it or not, I just did... and ya ain't gonna like it." Rodimus Prime says, "I already don't like it!" Sandstorm mutters about this place making his processors ache, and recomposes himself. "Yeah, well, if what I'm seein' is to be believed, you ain't gonna like it more." Combat: Chopshop appears from the shadows... Grimlock says, "ME GRIMLOCK STILL NOT CLAPPING." Rodimus Prime says, "... Grimlock, you are the worst Tinkerbell ever." Sandstorm says, "There's a big lump of crystals mashed together. Some of 'em are black. Some of 'em. Well..... What -else- have we delt with lately made of crystal?" Chopshop ignores everything around him, his sticky fingers are busy grabbing as much as he can he's had some time now and as delicate work as it is he's well on the way to having pocketed a fair amount of both crystals. He glances up quickly as Sandstorm barges in, "Don't touch? Why didn't you say earlier?" Being told he can't do that just spurs him on and he frees another piece, "Get lost Autobot these pretty things are all mine!" The glow from the machine starts to flicker ever so slightly after that last piece was removed, perhaps the machine is failing or something really big is happening elsewhere. Galvatron backs away from Rodimus, his cheek twitching in... fear? "Stay back!" he gasps, raising his cannon to about even with Rodimus's head. "Stay away from me, I'm warning you!" He backs up for a few more moments before his optics narrow. "Wait. You can't simultaneously be Unicron AND Rodimus Prime. Or perhaps you think you can? If Rodimus is still in there, well, then, he'd certainly want to help THOSE people, now, wouldn't he?" He glances over at a bunch of Torqulonese bystanders, and imagines that they're on fire! Rodimus Prime says, "Crystal? Not so sure. I mean, lenses, mirrors... we've been running into a lot of those for some reason..." Chopshop says, "It is delicate work, it may take a short while." Combat: Chopshop sets its defense level to Neutral. Where Chopshop and Sansdtorm have found themselves, there is a crystalline device that appears to have been pieced together from perfectly clear shards and onyx black shards. The clear shards seem to come from something lense-like, and the black shards from something rectangular. It is all very pretty and sparkly. Some people here may have seen lense shards like that before, and certainly, at least once person here has seen those black shards. Chopshop is taking it apart, and that seems to be making reality break down even worse. Many aliens of every kind float in tubes filled with fluid, looking serene and beatific, like drowned saints. Sandstorm says, "I was talking about the lenses... but, yeah. The fact that it's come up SEVERAL times now is kinda related too..." Rodimus Prime curses. "Try to... we have to keep it from the 'Cons, but try to keep it whole. Goldbug said that if any more of those things go, it's bad news." Robot T-Rex! guuughs, and shakes his head, trying to get the world to stop spinning- which, given the subjective nature of reality, may be more literal in this case! He grunts, and staggers back to his feet- plowing through the doorway into the Crystal chamber with Chopshop and Sandstorm! The Wrecker and Insecticon get little notice, however. Instead, Grimlock just tromps over to the nearest suspended alien, and taps roughly on the 'glass.' "Hey. Hey you. Wake up!" "I said don't touch it!" Sandstorm focuses on how goddamn hard he wants to punch that Insecticon before he makes things any worse, or the Decepticons get their ugly hands another possible weapon, and lunges to do it. If he wants to smash his knuckles into Chopshop's face that badly the world will make it happen, right? Hopefully. "You're gonna break the whole goddamn world. Literally!" "No!" Rodimus exlcaims as the bystanders are fired on, because yes, he really /did/ contain all that evil, but he is /not/ Unicron, and his greatest weakness is ever... The young Prime dives /into/ the path of the blast to protect the others, screaming as he observes the blast instead. Sandstorm says, "There's also aliens in tubes, but that's kinda less important at the moment." Rodimus Prime says, "What? No, that's not less important! Rescue them!" Galvatron says, "Do whatever it takes to end this simulation!" Galvatron says, "Or whatever this is!" Sandstorm grunts. "They're dead anyways if the 'con creep breaks the whole damn world." This is why you don't send Wreckers on rescue missions, people. Galvatron grins. "Oh, I see! You couldn't allow yourself to become completely like Unicron, could you, Rodimus? No, you're too busy playing hero and trying to save people you don't even know. Well! Since you've proven to me that you were just a paper tiger all along..." His optics focus intently on Rodimus, and he imagines all kinds of terrible things happening to him--lightning raining down from the sky, fire bursting forth straight out of the ground, and even acid spraying at him from literally nowhere! "This is fun! Hahaha!" Chopshop is busy prying another shard free when Sandstorm lashes out, smacking him right in his mouth block area and knocking him backwards yanking out the crystal he was working on. "Tut tut Autobot, so violent, all i want is what's mine and then i'll be going..." Drawing his gun he aims at the device and the remaining crystals, "...or we can do this the hard way. Too late, it's been decided for you." Squeezing the trigger he fires several shots into the the device. Rodimus Prime says, "You're an Autobot. Find some way to rescue the aliens AND stop the Decepticons. It's what we do." Chopshop says, "I will speed this up, i have some guests, most unfortunate to have to destroy it." Galvatron says, "Henh. Probably for the best." When Chopshop shoots the device, there is a massive flicker as every possible reality tries to co-exist, all at once, even the realities where everyone is made out of ice cream. Then, there's just a dingy spaceport with far too many tamer, more normal security devices about, filled with rather drained, depressed-looking people. Seems the device was a psychic amplifier of some kind. The dreamer that Grimlock tapped thrashes in the liquid, wakening, but he doesn't seem to be able to get out of the tube on his own. He looks rather panicked, like he was in a nightmare of some sort. Save the aliens -and- stop the Decepticons? Isn't that what he's doing by trying to stop them from getting the crystal thing in the first place?! But then Chopshop shoots it, and everything goes bizarro for a few moments. "You dumbass! Don't you know not to shoot weird alien artifacts?!" ... fortunately, things don't blow up this time. Just go dead. Or back to boring. Not going to think about what it did look like for a brief moment there. ".. Well, that takes care of that problem," he mutters. Forgetting about Chopshop at this point, he grunts to Grimlock, just break 'em out already." Which he goes to do. Rodimus Prime is suddenly the center of a chaotic maelstrom of suffering, fire, lightning, acid. He screams in pain and is brought to his knees in the center of all this, then his optic lids clench shut as he focuses on making himself invulnerable to Galvatron's attacks, as he imagines no pain, no pain... And suddenly he feels no pain! Did it work? He opens his optics and sees that spaceport has become a normal spaceport, and that the reality altering affects seem to have vanished. "Hnh." He stands up and brushes himself off. "Well, that was anticlimatic." "Oh! Me Grimlock fix this!" He grunts, and looks over at Sandstorm. "Go shoot bug!" he says- and then he transforms to his robot mode- his energo sword blazing in his hand! Gimlock grunts, and swings the sword around in expert arcs- hacking through glass and crystal- seeking to bite deep enough to break the casings, but leave the occupants unhurt! Rodimus Prime says, "Good job, guys." Sandstorm says, "It didn't blow up this time, at least." Grimlock says, "Look like that already happeneded!" "Bugbrain don't matter no more, Grim. Getting these people outta there prison does," Sandstorm replies. Maybe the whole being more worried about busting the Insecticon first was an effect of the warps of reality? The world will never know, now. Galvatron twinks out on Rodimus for a few moments more before reality becomes incomprehensible, with so many potential realities whizzing by he can't follow them. "What the--" But just as soon as it starts, it ends. "--it's over? Hm, so Chopshop was successful. Well, then! If reality is back to normal, then..." He looks about for Torkevin. "...where does that leave my little monkey friend?" Chopshop is slightly disturbed by the 'when realities collide' kaleidoscope but shrugs at Sandstorm, "If i can't have it i'm not letting you have them." He falls silent as both Autobots ignore him in favour of the trapped aliens and he hurries off to rejoin Galvatron. He wants to get away with his loot, though undoubtedlky he'll have to give a cut of the crystal haul over. Sandstorm says, "Now that I can think straight again... ugh. I hate reality warps." The dreamers start to ooze out of their tubes as the Autobots crack them open and free them. They seem very groggy and disoriented - and also, to a man, very scared. Many of them take off screaming and running, while others just sit on the floor and shudder. Looks like Torkevin's perfect world required some sacrifices to create! But speaking of Torkevin... he seems to have vanished, like he never really existed in the first place. Perhaps he was just a figment of someone's imagination? Sandstorm says, "That ... thing, looked like the lenses and one of those monoliths. Like someone had broke the two apart and haphazard them into one big lump.... ugh. I think some of these aliens are gonna need some mental help. They look... out of it after being used to power a dream world." Rodimus Prime's arms slump as it becomes obvious that this isn't over yet. He then clenches his fist. "After all /that/-?" and then he growls. "Don't worry about him, Galvatron, you've got other things to worry about. I don't know if you've realized this, but you're outnumbered." Okay, sure, Sandstorm and Grimlock were wandering cracking dreamers out of tubes, but they'd be back soon! There's a flurry of moving parts, and Grimlock changes to his robot mode! Rodimus Prime says, "... Well, we /are/ on an insane asylym." Pause. "I'll, uhm, talk to the Assembly about why the hell this planet is still liscened." Grimlock has little sympathy for the freed dreamers- as far as he's concerned, if they're still alive, they're no longer his problem! The dinocommander grunts, and glances around. "Uh. So. Things am normal now, right?" he asks- and then he attempts to carve a chunk out of the wall with his energo sword, just to see what'll happen! Grimlock says, "Me Grimlock hate this planet!" Sandstorm can't really do much other than bust them out of the tubes, after that, it's kinda.. well, if they huddle in a mass or go off screaming is their own problems, really. "Com'n Grim, we better go make sure Galvatron don't blow Roddy into pieces now that it won't just go away again." With that he heads back out of the room to hurry back to where they left the others fighting. Sandstorm says, "Actually, I can answer that one, Rodimus." Sandstorm, faking a stiff politician sounding voices, "If they're locked up in there, they're not -our- problem anymore. Who cares what happens beyond that." Galvatron looks and looks, but can't find that annoying Torqulon. "Hnnnnh. Bah. He was never real in the first place! So what! The important thing is that we smashed the Torqulons' little toy, hahaha! Feel free to pick up the pieces, Rodimus!" His head turns towards Chopshop, and he says, "Well done, soldier! Let's get out of here!" And on that note, he blasts off into the sky! Rodimus Prime grumbles beneath his breath. But over the radio. Chopshop reaches the place where Galvatron continues to look for things to suffer his wrath, the return journey somehow shorter than the one out, damn reality warping machinery. "The device is in ruins Lord." Not wanting to hang around any longer he takes to the air right behind Galvatron, calling down mockingly to Rodimus "We win again, better luck next time rustspot!" The wall is totally ruined by Grimlock's sword! Reality is back to normal. "Yay! Breaking stuffs work again!" Grimlock says, and then glances around- at which point he tromps on over towards Rodimus Prime. "Uuuh. That mean you not, uh, squiddy, right? That kinda freaky." he says, and wiggles his fingers a little at Rodimus. Rodimus Prime looks relieved as Galvatron and Chopshop head off. He turns to look for the other Autobots, except Hexnut, who was never really there, anyway. As he approaches Sandstorm he looks towards one of the dreamers. "We..." he sighs. "We can't do anything for them just now." Then he blinks at Grimlock. "Uhm, no. I am not Squidimus Prime." "Technically," Sandstorm comments "I think that thing was already broke in the first place, and they'd just jury-rigged it to do what they wanted. Like they'd just shoved two artifacts together with duct tape." Huh, that -was- shorter this time. No illusion to try and keep people from finding the chamber, or something. He'd decided to just not think about the whole fiasco too hard. "They need a real doctor and not one of these looney psychoanowhatevers." He pauses, blinking, and looking around as he notices the guy that'd brought them here is gone. ".. Wait, was the guide an illusion too?" Grimlock nods approvingly at Rodimus. "Hn. Good." he decrees- and then looks over at Sandstorm. "Uuuuh. Whut he said. Can us leave now? Me Grimlock hate this planet!" Of course, Grimlock says that about most places he winds up, but still. Maybe he's taking lessons from Kup? Rodimus Prime looks around at the others. Then he looks at the nearest dreamer. He kneels and gently picks the creature up. "We... we can drop some of them off on our way home, at least." They can't save everyone, but Autobots still save who they can. "Now come on, let's... get out of here." Sandstorm nods a bit, helping Rodimus gather up the ones that didn't wander off screaming. Not that he really cares, but he still feels kinda sorry for them, being effectively slaves to their own dreams like that. He notices Hexnut is gone too, but just shrugs it off. You get used to seeing people that look like someone else in odd colors and then never seeing them again in this war.